Spaghetti with meatballs is one of the girls’ favourite suppers. It’s a bit time-consuming for a weekday meal, so it doesn’t feature as often as they would like.

After trying various recipes, I’ve pretty much settled on the one in Nigella Eats. I like the simplicity of the tomato sauce, and cooking the meatballs directly in the sauce means one less pan to wash up afterwards.

Spaghetti and meatballs
(serves 4-6)

For the meatballs

250g ground beef

250g ground pork

1 egg

2 Tb grated Parmesan

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp dried oregano

3 Tb breadcrumbs

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground pepper

For the sauce

1 onion, quartered

2 cloves garlic, peeled

1 tsp dried oregano

1 Tb butter

1 Tb olive oil

700g bottle tomato passata

1/2 tsp sugar

salt and pepper

100ml milk

500g spaghetti

freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Combine all the meatball ingredients in a large bowl, and mix by hand.

Form the mixture into small balls, and refrigerate.

To make the sauce, put the onion, garlic and oregano a food processor and blend to a pulp.

Melt the butter and oil together in a deep, wide pan over medium-low heat. Add the onion mixture and cook for ten minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened.

Add the passata to the pan, then half fill the bottle with water, screw the lid back on and give it a good shake. Pour the water into the pan, and add the sugar, salt and pepper. Cook five minutes, then add the milk.

Drop the meatballs into the pan, one by one. Partially cover the pan, and leave the sauce to simmer for twenty minutes until the meatballs are cooked through.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to the rapid boil. Add the spaghetti, and give it a good stir to prevent it sticking together. Cook until the pasta is just tender. Drain and serve with the meatballs, sauce and grated Parmesan cheese.